Pieces
by Tony's-Loki
Summary: Loki is an Avenger and he and Tony are dating. During a mini-vacation Loki finds a girl, beaten and bruised. He takes her to his and Tony's cabin hoping to save her, but her biological father has other plans. Rated M for mentions of rape and sex. (The summary sucks, so... sorry!)
1. The Woods

**A/N: So my this is my second story! A HUGE thank you to Sister of Gallifrey for encouraging me to write it!  
The story is not beta'd so if you see any mistakes, just let me know!**

**Hope you guys like it!  
**

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She runs.

"GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE BITCH!" comes her father's slurred, fierce voice from inside the cabin while his friends scream in anger. She can hear them moving around inside, chairs scraping against the wooden floor, bottles clanking, feet shuffling. The sound of the back door opening reaches her ears as the light from inside leaks out into the darkness over the snow-covered ground. She glances behind and picks up her pace. Seeing all the men running after her scares her, but it's the sight of her father with a gun in his hands that has her running toward the wire fence surrounding the cabin faster.

Tears stream down her face, fast and hot, blurring her vision. The night air is cold and she can feel the thick layer of snow soaking through her boots, but all she can think about is getting away from the place she once called home, but now calls her prison. She reaches the gate and starts to climb it frantically. She's about to jump from it when she hears the gun shot and a searing pain shoots through her arm. She screams and falls to the snow-covered ground hard. Something in her side breaks and more pain flares through her body, but she pushes herself up, clutching her bleeding arm, and runs into the treeline.

The woods are dark and the moonlight shines through tiny breaks in the leaves of the trees. She continues running, even after the voices behind her fade into nothing and the only thing that can be heard is her crying and ragged breathing. She trips over a tree root and falls down the steep hill in front of her. Her rolling body collides with trees and rocks on the way down. There is no snow in the woods to cushion the impacts and she takes it all, letting out another loud scream as something punctures her leg.

She lands in a heap on a flat surface covered in snow. Her body is numb from the cold air hitting her quickly soaking body and her breathing is erratic and harsh. She tastes blood in her mouth and she feels as though she is drowning. She looks at the sky for what she believes is the last time, watching it change from black to blue. She succumbs to the darkness calling her name and looses conciousness as more snow starts to fall.

* * *

Loki wakes up before Tony does and he watches him sleep.

For a while he stays there, taking in the man next to him. He thinks back to seven years earlier. It had been one year after Loki tried to take over Earth and he returned, meaning Midgard no harm, when a very angry Man of Iron attacked him, expecting a fight. When none came, the Man of Iron was confused. He swore to keep an eye on Loki, and he did so from a distance. Everything started to change after Loki saved Tony from being obliterated by an unknown creature and helping the Avengers defeat it. None of them trusted Loki, save Thor, and he couldn't blame them. A few more occurences like that one happened and after a while everyone stopped questioning the God of Mischief's motives. It was only after Loki defeated a global threat on his own that he was recruited as an Avenger. The majority of the group were still apprehensive about the known criminal becoming an Avenger, but as time went by all doubts were quenched. Tony was the first to befriend him and they became close. One thing led to another and fast forward seven years later, here he is, holding the love of his life, watching him sleep.

Loki sighs contentedly and slowly gets out of bed. He stands and smiles at the shakiness and soreness of his entire lower body. He stifles a snort at the thought of how much more narcissistic Tony would become if he found out just how sore he made his god.

He can't say that he regrets it considering he had the best sex ever in his life with the still unconscious man in the bed the night before. _My mortal._ He didn't like that his and Tony's miniature vacation was coming to an end and that they were going to be leaving in the next few hours, but they need to be available in case of an attack.

He gets dressed and glances out of the window. The sun hasn't come out yet, but snow is clearly falling. He quickly scrawls a note for Tony, telling him he went for a walk and that he'll be back in time for their departure. He kisses Tony on the forehead and sets the note on the dresser next to the bed.

He pulls a green cloak over his shoulders, covering his midgardian attire, and walks out of the door.

Once outside, he breathes in the scent of the woods and pulls the cloak closer to his body. He starts off down a trail that circles around the cabin into the woods. He walks around for a while, thinking of new ways to advance his magic when he realizes that the sun is coming up, turning the sky a brilliant shade of blue. He smiles and walks around for a while longer, lost in his thoughts. After some time he looks up at the sky again and realizes that it has turned a soft pink .

He vaguely wonders how long he's been walking around and is about to teleport back to the cabin when he notices a broken path between the trees. Curious, he decides to follow it. As he goes along he notices blood stains and tattered pieces of clothing on the tree branches and along the ground. He picks up his pace and he follows the blood stains down the steep hill, mind alert and body tense. He can see a light coming from what appears to be a clearing and he realizes the blood trail goes straight to it. He can see the snow falling and the pink sky clearly again and runs the rest of the way down the hill as his eyes fix on auburn hair. The closer he gets, the clearer it becomes what he is looking at. He comes into the clearing and slides to a stop on his knees next to the limp body. His heart is pounding and he gently rolls the small body onto it's back. His eyes widen in horror and shock at the unconscious, bleeding girl in front of him.

He looks at the ghostly pale skin and the bruises and cuts littering it. He takes in the gash in her arm and the way the right side of her rib cage caves in. He looks down and cringes at the sight of a small, thick stick protruding from her thigh. Immediately he searches for a pulse, noticing how cold her skin is, and finds one, but a faint one. He registers her ragged breathing and the way it sounds, figuring that her broken ribs must have punctured a lung. Immediately he closes his eyes and takes one of her wrists in his hands. He sends a temporary warmth through her body, hoping it will help her stay alive. He takes his cloak off and wraps her in it carefully. He looks at her and the puddle of blood around her, and hopes that her injuries look worse than they actually are.

Carefully and gently, he lifts her frail, broken body onto his lap and teleports them both into his and Tony's cabin.

"TONY!"


	2. Healing

**A/N: So here's the next chapter! I hope you guys like it! I'm sorry if it makes no sense!  
Thank you for all of the reviews/favs/follows! I honestly thought no one would read this.  
Enjoy!**

* * *

"TONY!"

Loki stands up and moves toward the living area, cradling the girl in his arms. He gently lays her down on the biggest sofa and starts to unwrap her from his cloak. "TONY!" he yells again. He hears a muffled thump and then scrambling. If it weren't for the situation, Loki would have laughed at the mental image of Tony falling, naked, out of bed.

"LOKI! LOKI ARE YOU ALRIGHT!? WHERE ARE YOU?!" comes Tony's frantic screaming. He's no doubt trying to get clothes on and Loki is trying desperately to stay calm. He's never been one for healing and he never really cared to learn it.

Loki faintly registers the sound of Tony's hectic, muffled movements and the stream of curses flowing out of his, apparently worried, boyfriends mouth. However, he pays this no attention as he looks down at the girl. A dagger appears in his hand and he immediately begins to take her out of the damp, tattered clothing. He's careful not to hurt her further as he quickly cuts through the flimsy cloth of her shirt. When he's done she's left only in her bra and underwear. He realizes just how cold her skin is as he brushes some loose strands of hair away from her face. Her breathing has become slower and even more uneven and panic threatens to take over him, but he pushes his fears away and focuses.

He decides to start healing her biggest injury. He presses both of his hands firmly to her ribcage. Faint green light encases his hands and it works its way into her body and over the rapidly bruising skin on her torso. Instantly, her breathing becomes better, though it is still slow, and an audible crack fills the room just as Tony rushes in.

Loki's back is to Tony, so when he's roughly pulled up by the arms and turned around, he's shocked.

"Loki are you alright?! I heard you scream my name! Are you hurt? Loki answer me!" Tony rushes out as he frantically searches his boyfriends body for any injuries.

"Anthony I am fine but she is not and she will die if we do not help her!" Loki states as he pulls himself out of Tony's grip and returns to his kneeling position in front of the sofa.

"Her? Loki who are you..." but Tony trails off before he can finish his sentence. His jaw drops as he takes in the sight before him. "Holy shit." he proclaims quietly as he moves next to Loki and drops to his knees. "Loki, who is she?" he asks. He stands up and makes his way to the adjoining kitchen.

"I'm not sure who she is." Loki says over the sound of running water. "I found her in the snow unconscious."

"What were you doing outside?" Tony asks as he comes back into the living room carrying a few damp towels in his hands.

Loki huffs at all the questioning but answers anyway. "I went for a walk when I woke up this morning. I was about to return when I noticed a new trail and I followed it. She was at the bottom of it, somewhat buried in the snow." he explains as Tony begins to wipe her skin clean of the dried blood, tree bark and rocks.

Tony stops and looks at Loki. "You went for a walk and didn't tell me?" he asks.

"Are you _really_ asking me that question? Now of all times?" Loki asks incredulously, moving so that he can see what is wrong with the girl's arm.

"... Yeah. Right. Okay, focus. But this conversation isn't over." Tony continues to clean her wounds out, but stops again, and looks up when he hears something moving. He sucks in a breath as he sees a bullet slowly starting to make it's way out of her arm and toward Loki's hand. Blood slowly flows out of the wound as Loki grabs the bullet in his left hand and cover's the injury with his right one. He mutters something under his breath, and a bright green flash pulses through his hand and around her arm. When he pulls his hand away there is only a thin pink line as evidence of the injury.

Loki puts the bloodied bullet down and moves to the side of the sofa. "We need to get that stick out of her leg." he states as he gestures to Tony's side.

Tony looks down and instantly stands up. "Loki, if we pull that out she might bleed to death."

"I can heal her."

"How much more healing can you do?" Tony asks with a hint of worry in his voice. "You've probably drained yourself already."

"I haven't. I have enough energy to heal that wound properly."

"No, Loki. We need to get her to the tower. It's obvious she has Hypothermia, and a severe case at that if her skin color is any indication." Tony says.

"We need to take it out now or infection will spread Anthony." Loki says firmly. When Tony doesn't answer him Loki becomes desperate. "Tony I can heal her and I can teleport us all back to the tower. Please! Just let me help her." he pleads.

Tony hesitates. Never has he heard such desperation in his god's voice before. He nods and Loki rushes next to him.

They both kneel again and Tony takes over. "I'll pull the stick out okay? Once it's out and completely out of the way, heal her. Then, and _only_ then, take us to the tower. Understand?"

Loki nods his head.

Tony grips the stick in his right hand and firmly holds the girl's thigh in place with his left hand. "Ready?" Loki nods his head again and Tony pulls the stick out, throwing it somewhere else in the room. Instantly Loki presses his hand against the wound, green flowing from it once again, and he heals it quickly.

He looks up at Tony and grips his hand with one of his own. He does the same with the girl. Tony feels his stomach lurch forward as black surrounds him. Almost as fast as the sensation came, it vanishes. He opens his eyes and realizes he's in the living area of the Avengers Tower with five, very shocked, Avengers staring at them.

"Umm, a little help here!"


	3. Understanding

**A/N: I kinda don't like the way I wrote this chapter, but I hope you guys like it better than I do.  
Thank you guys for all of the reviews/favs/follows! You all make me very happy! ^^  
Enjoy!**

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"Umm, a little help here!" Tony states, a bit annoyed at the lack of movement.

Instantly Bruce and Thor rush over since the other Avengers are practically useless at the moment.

"What happened?" Bruce asks quietly as he kneels opposite of Tony and Loki, checking the unconscious girl's heart rate and breathing.

"We're not sure. Loki found her in the snow by our cabin and he brought her back to it." Tony explains looking over at Loki. His emerald eyes are wide in shock and his hands are hovering slightly over the girl's body. As Far as Tony can tell, he's not using any type of magic on her. He looks at Bruce and says, "Get her down to the med bay stat! I'm sure that you know by now that she's got a really severe case of Hypothermia and we need to treat her fast." He brings his attention back to Loki. "Babe..." Tony puts his hand on Loki's shoulder. Tony can feel him shaking slightly and he starts to worry even more. Gently, he takes Loki's chin in his hand, forcing him to look away from the girl. "Loki, she's going to be fine, okay. I promise she'll be fine, but you have to let Bruce and Thor take her to the med bay right now."

Loki looks at him before looking back at the girl. He nods his head slowly and Tony moves him out of the way. Loki watches helplessly as Thor bends over and picks the girl up.

"Worry not, brother. We will take care of her." Thor says before hurrying after Bruce to the med bay.

Loki clings to Tony and his breathing hitches slightly. His body is shaking visibly now and Tony shoots Natasha a pleading look. She nods at him and looks at Clint and Steve. "Come on you two. Let's go see if they need any help down there." She nudges Clint forward and gives Steve a stern look. She looks back at Tony and he mouths a silent "Thank you". Her gaze moves to Loki and goes back to Tony before she disappears into the elevator, a look of understanding on her face.

As soon as the elevator doors close Tony turns Loki around and presses his head into his chest, kissing him on the forehead. Loki stays frozen in his arms looking at the green bloodied cloak lying on the floor. Never in his life has he ever seen anything like what happened to that girl. He has seen death, war and plenty of gore to last him a lifetime, but never has he seen someone so young and helpless so bruised and broken, and it scares him. _How can anyone be so cruel? Would I have been that cruel if I had succeeded in taking over Midgard?_ He closes his eyes and shudders, burying his face into Tony's chest.

Tony leads Loki to the couch and sits him there. He realizes that they are both covered in blood and he quickly takes off both of their shirts, tossing them to the floor next to the cloak. He goes to the kitchen and brings back a wet paper towel, wiping his hands clean and proceeding to clean Loki's. Loki, however, isn't paying Tony or what he is doing much attention. His eyes linger on the closed doors of the elevator. He looks down and watches Tony wipe away the last of the blood, leaving none on his pale skin. He looks at the bloody discarded clothes again and instantly he's on his feet, running toward the elevator.

Tony had kept his eyes on Loki's face the entire time he was cleaning his hands so this action doesn't take him by surprise. Instead he bolts only seconds after Loki, and despite the obvious difference in their leg length, he manages to grab Loki and wrestles him to the ground. It was easy to do this, which is evidence enough that Loki did drain himself quite a bit while healing the girl. He pins his shoulders to the ground and tries to get Loki to look at him. "Loki calm down!"

"I have to help her Anthony!" Loki states loudly despite their faces being inches apart. He struggles to get Tony off of him and he starts to buck his body. "I- Have- To- Help- Her!" he all but screams, still trying to get out from underneath him.

Tony puts his knees on top of Loki's shoulders and pins his hands to the sides of his body, holding him down. Loki continues fighting for a bit longer before he tires himself out. By that time a sheen of sweat is covering his forehead and chest and he's panting. Tony lifts his weight off of Loki when he's sure that he won't be able to run again. He looks down at Loki and his eyebrows furrow. "Loki-"

"She's just a child." Loki says weakly.

"What?"

"She's just a child, Anthony."

"She looked more like a teenager to me-"

"Anthony that is not what I meant! She is young! Look at what happened to her! Why did _that_ happen to her?! Why was she out in -15° weather in the middle of winter in flimsy clothing?! Why did she have a bullet, a _bullet_ Tony, in her arm?! Who did that to her?! Why did they do it to her?!" Loki demands. "Why wasn't anyone looking for her?" he finishes quietly, a trace of sadness and confusion in his voice.

"I don't know Loki." Tony is really confused by the sudden outburst and is even more confused by the extent to which Loki already cares about this girl. He has a feeling that it is something deeper to Loki. Something personal. _What though?_ Then it clicks and Tony suddenly understands. "Does this have something to do with... your own kids?" he asks quietly.

Loki pushes himself up into a sitting position and presses the heels of his hands to his eyes. "I couldn't protect my children. I couldn't stop Odin from taking them from me." he says, his voice trembling with tears he refuses to let fall. "I couldn't save them and they never had a chance. They were never given one. I want her to at least have a chance." he states so quietly it's almost a whisper.

Tony moves so that he's in front of him again. He takes Loki's hands into his own and moves them away from his face. Loki's lashes are clumped together due to the tears he tried so hard to force down and his eyes are rimmed red. Loki blinks and a single tear slides down his cheek. Tony wipes it away and looks him in the eyes. "And she will." He stands and offers his hand to Loki, who gives him a watery smile and takes it. Tony pulls him up and Loki wraps his arms around Tony's neck. "I promise she will have her chance."

"Þakk þér, minn ást." Loki whispers into his neck.

Tony hugs him tighter before letting go. "Come on. Let's go change. Then we'll go down to the med bay and check on her."

Loki nods and follows Tony to the bedroom. _She'll be fine. She is safe now._

* * *

_***Þakk þér, minn ást - thank you, my love**_


	4. Awakening

**A/N: So here it is! Umm, not to sure about this chapter. I wrote it at about 3 in the morning sooooo I hope you all like it!  
Thank you for all of the reviews/favs/follows! I love them and they motivate me to write more ^^  
Enjoy!**

* * *

"So this... Hypothermia, is it gone?" Loki asks, looking at Bruce. He's sitting in the med bay with Bruce and Tony, watching the girl. Her skin is no longer a ghostly pale, but a soft ivory color. Her breathing is even now, though slow like she's asleep. The only visible part of her body is her face and, despite the bruises and cuts, Loki can't help but to think about how beautiful she must be.

"Well, it's not gone, but it's not so severe a case anymore." Bruce explains. "Basically we had to help her get some heat back because her body wasn't producing enough. That's why she's wrapped up in all of these blankets. Natasha brought down some of her clothes and put it on her, that'll also help in the end. When she wakes up we have to give her something warm to drink. Nothing with caffeine and definitely no alcohol. Those will only make her worse."

Both Loki and Tony nod at this information. "What about all of the blood she lost?" Tony asks.

"She did lose a lot, but not enough to kill her and not enough that she needed a blood transfusion."

"How is that possible? She was in a pool of her own blood when I found her." Loki states.

"Because she was practically frozen when you found her, her heart wasn't pumping blood through her system so fast. Her blood became thicker the colder she got so she didn't lose so much. My guess is that the pool of blood you saw her in was from when she first passed out. Not to mention that she was in snow and it most likely melted with the heat of her blood, making it look like she lost more than she actually did." Bruce pauses to let that sink in before continuing on. "The wounds you told me you healed, Loki, are only thin pink scars now that should go away in time. Her ribcage, however, did not fully heal."

Loki nods his head again, "I've never been one for healing and I never had a reason to learn it further."

Bruce only gives him a half smile and continues. "I've wrapped them in some bandages to help them set the right way. I'd say to give her about two and a half weeks and she'll be fine."

"Anything else?" Tony asks.

Bruce turns his attention to Tony and says, "She's going to be in pain when she wakes up. How much pain she'll be in, I can't say, but I'm almost 99.9 percent sure that it won't be a dull pain. She may need some medication, but possibly nothing to strong." He pauses and glances at Loki uncertainly.

"What?" Bruce doesn't answer him right away, and Loki's body tenses. "Bruce, do not withhold any information from me. What is it?"

Bruce sighs and moves from the table he was leaning on and walks toward the bed on the opposite side of Loki. "It looks like she was beaten."

Both Loki and Tony's faces drop then. "What?" Tony asks, looking at the girl and coming to stand next to Loki's rigid form. "I mean, I guessed that she was attacked... but beaten?" he asks quietly.

"Why do you think this?" Loki asks in a measured voice.

"Well, she has bruises everywhere, but they aren't ones that look like they came from rolling down a hill hitting trees and rocks on the way down. There are a couple that look like fists and one that is in the shape of a shoe. They're all over her back and torso. She also has some old cuts that are still healing on her arms, but they look like they were put there by some rings on a person's hand. Her left wrist is healing from what looks like a sprain, but it looks old and has been healing for a while."

Tony's face closes off and Loki is even more tense, his knuckles white from how hard he's clenching his fists.

"Whoever it was that did all that to her was smart about it, only leaving marks where they can't be seen." Bruce finishes.

It stays silent for a long time after that, the only sound being the girl's breathing.

Loki is about to say something when a soft whimper stops him.

Everyone instantly looks down at the person in the bed, moving. Bruce and Tony are instantly on their feet, heading toward the small kitchen area, trying to find something warm for the girl to drink. Loki is on his feet too, but he's standing over her, brushing her cool cheek with a single finger gently. He can feel her shaking slightly and he guesses it's because of the pain. She groans and her movements become stronger.

"Shh, darling. It's alright. You're safe now. No one will hurt you. Shh." Loki tells her quietly in a soothing voice. It seems to work and she starts to relax. He continues to run his finger over her cheek, alternating between his thumb and forefinger, in a reassuring manner. He looks away from her to see what is taking Tony and Bruce so long and when he looks back down, hazel eyes filled with fear and pain are staring up at him. Their gazes meet for two heartbeats before she closes her eyes and clenches her jaw.

"Relax sweetheart, you're fine, just breath." he tells her as calmly as he can manage. _Gods one girl in pain and I become a panicky mess!_

"It hurts!" she croaks softly, and it breaks Loki's heart.

"I know. I know it does. But pain doesn't last darling, it will pass." he says, taking the blanket off of her head and running his hand over her hair gently. He glances up toward the kitchen, "TONY BRING SOMETHING FOR PAIN!" he yells before looking back at her. "It's alright you'll be fine." he says in a quiet voice.

Seconds later Bruce is opposite him again, "Loki, help me get her into a sitting position." he says quietly, despite the curses falling out of Tony's mouth from in the kitchen area.

Loki nods and moves so that he's more behind the girl than next to her. He gently wraps his arm around her upper back, supporting her head with his shoulder, and tries to sit her up.

The blankets around the front of her body fall open and her auburn hair falls forward in waves when her head tilts to the front. Loki automatically brings her head back toward his shoulder carefully and sits behind her so that she's leaning into him. He brushes her waist long hair out of her face and pushes it behind her ears. She takes in deep, heavy breathes as new tremors overtake her body. Loki holds her closer to him, whispering reassurances to her, cradling her in his arms.

Tony comes over a few seconds later and gives Loki two tiny white tablets and a small cup of what smells like chamomile tea.

"Here darling, drink these." She opens her eyes and accepts the two pills and the drink. She's shaking so badly that Loki has to wrap his hand around hers so that the drink doesn't spill. She swallows the pills dry and chases them with the warm tea. Loki takes the cup out of her hands and gives it back to Tony with a look of shock on his face.

After a while her shaking subsides and she just sits there in Loki's arm, slightly tense. "Where am I?" she asks quietly, looking around nervously.

"You're in Avengers Tower, or, the med bay of Avengers Tower, but still in Avengers Tower." Tony tells her as Bruce brings a palm up to his face and Loki rolls his eyes.

She smiles apprehensively and nods her head. Loki can feel some of the tension leave her body then. _Oh Norns his rambling actually calmed her._

"What's your name?" Bruce asks as he moves toward some of the medical tools on a nearby stand.

"Victoria Crosse, but you guys can call me Tori."

Bruce nods and gives her a small smile. "How are you feeling Tori?"

She looks at him with a curious expression on her face. "I'm better now, thank you." She watches him as he tests her reflexes with a small rubber hammer. "Why am I here?"

"Oh, Loki here found you in the snow. He brought you back to our cabin and then proceeded to bring us all here." Tony explains.

She angles her head to look Loki in the eyes. "Why?"

"Why what?" Loki asks.

"Why did you... help me?"

"Because you were hurt." he tells her. It is a small part of the truth, but Loki figures that she doesn't need to know the rest.

"Thank you." she says. Loki smiles a little and nods his head at her.

"How old are you Tori?" Tony questions this time.

"Sixteen."

"When's your birthday?"

"February ninth."

"Seventeen in two months then. Cool."

Bruce approaches her with a small flashlight in his hand. "Look at the light please." He turns it on and watches her eye. He repeats this with the other eye and then tells her to follow his finger. Well, there doesn't seem to be any permanent damage. Can you move your toes?" There's a brief pause before Tori nods. "What about your fingers?" She looks down at her hands and flexes her fingers, looking up and nodding again. "Good. Looks like the healing worked Loki."

Loki breathes out a sigh of relief and Tony claps him on the back.

"Healing?" Tori asks. "What healing?"

"Well you had a bullet in your arm and a pretty thick stick in your thigh. Loki healed both of those wounds and mended your broken ribs, effectively draining himself of his magic in the process." Tony tells her nonchalantly.

"Oh." Tori says, looking down at her hands guiltily.

"I'm not blaming you." Tony tells her gently with a smirk on his face, "I'm actually proud of him." he says, smiling at Loki.

"Shut up, Stark." he says with a small smile on his lips.

Tony moves closer to him and kisses him on the cheek. "You did great Reindeer Games."

"Anthony." Loki says in a low tone.

"Smile babe, the ladies love it." Tony says with a wink.

Loki rolls his eyes again before bringing his attention back to Tori.

"Did you really, um, drain your magic because of me?" she asks shyly.

"Yes. But fret not, darling. I am fine and my magic shall return." he tells her with a genuine smile.

She nods again, and slumps a little further into his arm.

"What is it? What is wrong?" Loki asks, bringing his hand to her forehead, a new wave of panic rising up in his chest.

"Nothing, I'm just tired." she says, obviously fighting to stay awake.

"It's normal." Bruce reassures him, "Lay her back down, she needs to rest."

Loki complies and lays her down gently. The minute her head is on the pillow she falls asleep. He looks at her and instantly looks back up at Bruce. "I do not want her down here."

"What?"

"I do not want her down here." he repeats.

"Loki, we have to monitor her condition." Bruce objects.

"We can do that in my penthouse." Tony says right away.

"Why can't she just stay down here?"

"I don't want her to be alone, or with someone she does not know yet watching her when she wakes again."

"Yeah Bruce, that is pretty scary." Tony says.

Loki can see that Bruce is about to object again, so he quickly starts to speak again. "Jarvis can keep an eye on her. He can monitor her and she can take the spare bedroom up there."

"She'd be way safer up there Bruce."

Bruce hesitates and stays quiet. After a couple of seconds he nods. "Alright."


	5. Pride and it's Reward

**A/N: So, I know it took way to long for me to get this chapter out and I'm so sorry. I'm especially sorry for how short it is too, but I promise the next chapter will be longer! I hope you guys at least like the chapter!  
As always, thank you guys for the follows/favs/reviews! They make me happy ^^  
Enjoy!**

* * *

It's dusk by the time Bruce lets Loki and Tony take Tori up to the penthouse with medication and two of the blankets she was wrapped in. Loki carries Tori out of the elevator with Tony leading him to the spare bedroom. Tony opens the door for him and Loki walks in heading straight for the four-poster bed. Tony puts the little bag of pills on the nightstand next to the bed while Loki lays Tori down in the middle of it, not wanting to worry about her rolling off of it in her sleep. Despite still being wrapped in the two blankets, Loki pulls the bed sheets over Tori's tiny frame and tucks her in. He runs his hand over her hair briefly before straightening up next to Tony.

"Jarvis."

"Sir."

"Monitor Tori's vitals. Keep an eye on her and tell us if something seems off or if she wakes up." Tony tells his A.I quietly so as not to wake the sleeping girl up.

"Yes sir."

They both turn to leave when Tony looks over at Loki with a smirk on his face. "You know, you're really sexy when you're taking care of someone."

"Oh really?" Loki asks with a smirk of his own, walking out of the room and closing the door quietly after Tony walks out. He doesn't have time to react when Tony spins him around and pins him to the door, pressing their lips together roughly.

It's all teeth and tongue and hot, wet breath. Loki gives in to Tony, letting him dominate the kiss and enjoying the sensations coursing throughout his entire being. When Tony starts to palm him Loki pulls away. He's panting and his heart is pounding and he's already achingly hard, but he is still a modest person. "Bedroom" he states breathlessly. Tony gets the point right away and he pulls Loki toward their room. Once there Loki closes the door and turns, shoving Tony toward the bed. The back of Tony's knees hit the mattress and he falls on top of the bed, scrambling back on it, and Loki climbs on top of him, pressing their kiss swollen lips together again. Tony bucks his hips and flips their positions, pinning Loki's hands next to his head, and grinding his hips hard against Loki's. They moan simultaneously and Tony does it again making Loki writhe underneath him.

Loki pulls his hands out from under Tony's grasp and yanks his shirt off of him, licking the expanse of the exposed flesh at his fingertips as soon as the shirt is gone. Tony's body shudders and he all but rips Loki's shirt off, throwing it onto the floor with his own. He leans down and starts to nibble on Loki's ear, relishing every sound of pleasure that escapes Loki's lips. Loki starts to pull at the belt around Tony's hips and unbuckles it. He pulls the zipper of Tony's pants down, taking his boxers with them, but he can only push them down to Tony's knees. Before he can do anything else Tony grabs his hands and pins them above his head, kissing him roughly. Tony pulls away and finishes taking his pants and boxers off, proceeding to take Loki's off with one hand. Once they're both free of their cloths Tony wraps his free hand around Loki's throbbing erection and starts to pump him roughly. Loki gasps loud and starts to thrust his hips up into Tony's hand. Tony comes up and starts leaving love bites all over Loki's neck and chest before releasing his hands.

Loki reaches up and pulls Tony down for a searing kiss, pulling on Tony's lower lip with his teeth every time their lips part. Tony removes his hand from Loki's member and he slicks his fingers with Loki's own pre-cum before prodding Loki's entrance with them. Loki moans into Tony's mouth and he arches up into him, their erections rubbing together, producing loud moans from both of them. Tony pulls away from Loki's lips and moves to his neck as he pushes a finger into him, moving it in and out. Loki groans loud enough to wake everyone in the building up and Tony mentally thanks himself for making the walls sound proof. He sucks and bites Loki's neck, leaving brutal red marks all over it as he slips another finger into him, scissoring them. Loki reaches up and grips Tony's shoulders hard enough to bruise as his head falls back onto the pillows, raven locks splaying out underneath him. Tony moves further down Loki's body, occasionally stopping to leave a mark before continuing down his body. When he reaches Loki's hips Tony slides in a third finger and he takes Loki's cock in his hand again, pumping it while he moves his fingers in and out. Loki pants Tony's name over and over again, moaning as the pleasure Tony is giving him escalates.

When Tony pulls his fingers out and removes his hand, Loki looks up at him and brown eyes meet green ones, and then Tony pushes himself fully into Loki, causing Loki's head to fall backas he cries out in ecstasy, and Tony himself to moan loud and hard. Tony waits a heartbeat before thrusting into Loki and Loki clamps his eyes shut, panting and sweating. Before long Loki starts thrusting his hips up in time to Tony's harsh thrusting, wanting more and more, harder and faster. Tony lifts one of Loki's legs over his shoulder and hooks his arm under his knees and continues his thrusting. Loki moans and grips the sheets as the new angle lets Tony go in deeper, and he locks eyes with Tony. Tony bends down, and kisses Loki, their lips meeting in frantic touches, but they never break eye contact. Tony hits the bundle of nerves inside of Loki and Loki's back arches up involuntarily as he screams Tony's name, and Tony continues hitting that spot. Loki clenches around Tony, and he wraps his free leg around his waist, shooting his seed all over his and Tony's chests, riding his orgasm out, thrusting his hips against Tony's as hot, sweaty skin claps together, and Tony comes shortly after him, filling Loki with his cum.

After their orgasms pass, Tony pulls out of Loki and collapses onto the bed next to him. After a long while their breathing calms down, and Tony wipes their chests clean with the corner of one of the sheets. He pulls a different sheet out from under them, and throws it over their waists before laying down again. Loki curls up next to Tony, resting his head on Tony's chest, and chuckles. "What?" Tony asks, smiling as he looks down at Loki.

"Maybe I should take care of people more often." Loki jokes and Tony laughs, pressing a kiss to the top of Loki's damp hair. They stay quiet for a while, Loki tracing invisible lines over Tony's chest with his fingers, Tony twirling a piece of Loki's hair with one finger.

"Hey, Reindeer Games."

Loki chuckles again at the use of his stupid nickname and he looks up at Tony. "Yes?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, darling." Loki reaches up and presses a lazy kiss to Tony's lips before pulling away and cuddling closer to Tony, throwing a leg over his waist, and falling asleep on him.

Tony stays awake for a while, watching his god sleep and pressing another gentle kiss to the top of his forehead. He thinks about how far Loki has come in seven years, and can't help but to feel a sense of pride in him. He wonders what it is he did to deserve someone like Loki in his life, and he sighs contentedly. He tugs the blanket up higher on their bodies and pulls Loki's sleeping form closer to himself, breathing in the familiar scent Loki gives off after sex, and falls asleep.


	6. Nightmares and Discoveries

**A/N: So here it is! Hope you all like it! I'm a little eh about it :P  
Enjoy!**

* * *

Loki shoots up in bed when he hears Jarvis' voice sound out through the darkened room. "Sir, Miss Crosse seems to be thrashing around on her bed."

Loki is already up and pulling clothes on before Jarvis even finishes the sentence. He runs for the bedroom door, pulling a shirt on, and he pulls it open hard enough to make the hinges creak. He runs toward the spare bedroom with a half dressed Tony on his heels, and when he throws the door open a shrill, terrified scream pierces their ears. There on the bed is Tori, moving around violently, tears streaming down her face as the horror in her mind takes control. Loki rushes to her as she rolls over, about to fall off of the bed, and puts a gentle, but firm hand on her arm, trying to keep her from harming herself further. "Victoria!"

At the sound of his voice her eyes fly open, wide and hazy with tears and fear. When Loki extends his other hand toward her, she yanks her arm away from him and scoots back into the middle of the bed. When Loki tries to reach for her again she curls into a ball and covers her face with her arms. "PLEASE DON'T HURT ME DAD! IT WAS AN ACCIDENT! IT WASN'T MY FAULT!" she screams between sobs. "IT WASN'T MY FAULT!"

Loki's eyes widen and he turns to look at Tony who looks just as shocked as he feels. He looks at Tori again, at how hard her body is shaking and how utterly terrified she sounds, and a wave of anger rushes through him. _Dad?_ He swallows his anger and extends a hand out to Tori again and gently touches her shoulder. Upon contact she tenses and her trembling becomes more violent, but she doesn't pull away. "Victoria, you're safe. No one here will harm you." he says as calmly as he can manage and is surprised to hear how gentle his voice sounds. "Victoria, look at me. It's Loki. I won't hurt you, I promise." Slowly Tori pulls her arms away from her face and she looks at him, fear still clear in her eyes, but also recognition. "It's me, sweetheart. I won't hurt you." he repeats softly.

She launches herself at him and buries her face into the crook of his neck, clinging to the front of the dark green shirt he managed to pull on. She sobs loudly and her body shakes with every breath she takes and Loki wraps his arms around her tightly, one hand firmly on her back and the other tangling into her loose hair. He presses a kiss to the top of her head and pulls her closer as her tears dampen his shirt. "You're safe. You're fine. It was only a nightmare." he tells her quietly as Tony walks over to the two of them with a cup of water in his hand. He sets the glass down and sits on the bed and he watches them.

Loki doesn't know how long they sit there, but he never moves from his place. He lets Tori cry into his shoulder while he whispers reassurances to her. When her crying dies down, he pulls away slightly and she looks up at him. Tears are still streaming down her face and her eyes are red and swollen, her face blotchy, but Loki doesn't take notice of any of that. He only brings a hand up to her face and wipes the tears away. When she hiccups Tony stands and gives her the cup of water. "Here, drink this. It'll help." he tells her gently. She accepts the cup and drinks from it slowly. When she finishes Tony takes the cup back and sets it on the table next to the small bag of medication that Bruce sent up hours before. Her breathing evens out and she's calmer than she was before when Tony squats in front of her.

"Thank you." she says, her voice hoarse from the screaming and the crying.

Tony gives her a small smile and shakes his head. "No need to thank me. Are you hurt?" he asks, gesturing to his ribs with a hand.

Tori looks down and the pain in her side registers. "I'm not sure." she tells him as she presses her hand to her side.

Tony nods and stands. "I'll go get Bruce. Jarvis, what time is it?"

Tori looks confused and jumps slightly when Jarvis answers. "Seven forty-nine in the morning, sir."

Tony nods again, "I'll be back soon." He looks at Loki with a worried look before turning and walking toward the door.

When Tony's gone Loki looks back at Tori. "Would you like to lay down again?" Tori shakes her head no and looks up at him again. Loki reaches over and pushes a strand of hair behind her ear. He looks around the bed and pulls a blue blanket around her shoulders, remembering Bruce's instructions on keeping her warm at all times. Before he finishes wrapping her in it, her stomach growls. She starts blushing and Loki smiles at her. "I'll make you something to eat." is all he says.

* * *

After helping her clean herself up a bit, Loki helps Tori to the livingroom and sits her down on the couch. He doesn't want to leave her alone so he decides to stay with her until Bruce and Tony come up. He sits on the couch next to her and looks forward. He doesn't know whether to say anything and before he could make up his mind Tori decides for him. "Has your magic come back yet?" Her voice is low and shy and Loki can't help but smile at her. Instead of giving her a vocal response, he stretches his arm out in front of her. He closes his hand and when he opens it again there's a rose with dark green petals on his palm. Her eyes widen as he gives it to her and an actual smile forms on her lips. "It's beautiful." she whispers as she gently touches the petals.

He smiles again and tells her, "My magic returns to me slowly, but surely."

"How?" she asks, looking up at him, curiosity replacing her shyness.

"With rest and sustenance. Of course it's natural for it to return to me, for I was born with it, but even without rest and food it would return. It would be a much longer process though." he explains.

She nods and extends her hand back out to him, the rose on her palm. He looks down and shakes his head at her. He wraps both of his hands over her small one, and closes her fingers over the rose. "It is yours. It will live for however long you wish for it to live, whether it be for one day or for an eternity."

Her eyes light up at his words. She brings the rose back into her lap and looks at it. "Thank you." she tells him with a bright smile on her face.

Just then Tony and Bruce come out of the elevator along with the other Avengers. Almost instantly Tori becomes shy again, and her smile disappears. She looks back down at the rose and starts to brush the petals with one finger again. Loki looks at Tony after seeing this, and Tony looks at Tori. He turns toward Bruce then, who also noticed her sudden seclusion, "Why don't you do the check up in mine and Loki's bedroom?" Tony asks.

Bruce nods. "Sure." He walks toward Tori and offers her one of his hands. Tori looks at Loki with uncertainty, but when he nods she accepts Bruce's hand instantly.

When they're gone Tony turns to everyone. Before anyone has a chance to shoot questions at him he raises his hands. "Sit down." Rather slowly, everyone listens to him and they sit down around the room. Loki, however, walks toward Tony and entwines his fingers with Tony's. Tony looks at him and gives his hand a gentle squeeze before turning his attention back to the others. "Her name is Victoria Crosse. She's sixteen. Her birthday is February ninth. The majority of her wounds have healed thanks to Loki but Bruce has wrapped her ribcage with bandages because they didn't heal fully. Bruce also thinks that she was beaten, and I think that he's correct." Tony tells them. He felt Loki tense at the mention of Tori getting beaten, but he's still looking at the others. The silence lasts only seconds before Clint speaks.

"Why does Bruce think she was beaten?"

"Apparently she had bruises and cuts on her torso that wouldn't have come from rolling down a hill and colliding with rocks and trees."

"Why do you believe him?" Natasha asks then.

"Because he's a doctor. Plus she had a nightmare and her reactions weren't normal, or at least not normal for a nightmare. When she opened her eyes and when Loki reached for her she pushed herself away from him and curled herself into a ball, screaming for her dad not to hurt her." Tony bites out, anger rising in his chest. It goes silent again as everyone takes in the news.

"Her father did that to her?" Thor asks quietly as shock registers on his face.

"If her nightmare is anything to go by, yes. However, I want to ask her. Now is not the time to do it though. She's still pretty shaken, and she still needs to adjust here. So please, keep any and all questions to yourselves for now." Tony tells them. They all nod in understanding and after a few more moments they go about their normal business.

"Captain." Loki calls as he lets go of Tony's hand.

Steve smiles and walks over to the two of them. "Loki, it's been seven years. Please call me Steve." he tells him for the millionth time.

Loki smiles a little and nods. "Steve then, can you help me make breakfast please? Victoria is hungry, and she needs food if she's going to heal." Loki says.

"Yeah I'll help. Your magic still gone?" Steve asks.

"Somewhat." Loki tells him as he looks at Tony and heads toward the kitchen with Steve.

Tony smiles at them before turning and walking toward the bedroom. When he pokes his head into the room Bruce and Tori look at him. "Can I come in?"

Bruce looks at Tori and Tori nods, "Sure." Bruce answers.

Bruce starts wrapping new bandages around Tori's ribcage but he catches a glimpse of the blue and black shoe-shaped bruise on her back before it gets covered. He takes a calming breath as he stops beside them. "You okay?" he asks her.

Tori looks up at him and nods. "Yes. I just can't make sudden movements." she tells him as Bruce finishes with the bandages, pulling her shirt back down, and puts a brace on her wrist. "Thank you."

"No problem. It's my job to help." Bruce says.

She looks at the rose still in her hand and Tony goes to sit next to her on the bed. She tenses slightly and Tony has to fight the urge to find out who did this to her and make them pay for it. Instead he looks at the rose again and smiles. "Loki give you that?"

"Yes. He made it for me when I asked him if his magic returned yet." she tells him quietly. Bruce finishes packing up his stuff and walks out of the room without another word. "Dr. Banner says that I should be fully healed soon."

"Yeah. Two weeks right?"She nods at him again, "Yes." It goes quiet and Tony doesn't know what to say, let alone what to do. "I'll leave as soon as I'm healed." she says quietly.

Tony looks at her then. "What?"

She looks at him with a sad smile on her face. "I know I'm a burden. I'm useless. I'd only bring you trouble, Mr. Stark. I'll leave as soon as I'm fully healed."

Tony can see that she truly believes what she said about herself, and his heart breaks a little. "No."

Her eyes widen, "No?"

"No. You're not a burden. You're not useless. And I'm an Avenger. Trouble is a constant part of my life." She only looks at him disbelieving and Tony has to really keep his temper in check. "I won't force you to stay here if you don't want to, but you have a place here, and you always will."

She smiles and looks down. "Thank you, Mr. Stark."

"Please, call me Tony."

She laughs softly and looks back at him. "Thank you Tony."

Tony nods then and stands, offering his hand to her. "Come on. Breakfast will be ready soon. Let's go eat."

* * *

At first there's an awkward silence while they eat. No one wants to say anything that might upset Tori and this annoys her greatly. _Really, it's not as if I'm made of friggin' glass!_ But despite her annoyance and obvious uncomfortableness, she enjoys the food that Loki and Captain Rogers made.

They're halfway through the meal when Clint whispers something to Thor. Thor, who had just taken a drink of his orange juice, laughs and the drink flies out of his nose everywhere. Tori's eyes go wide and she looks around the table. Loki looks annoyed and disgusted, Tony looks like he's trying not to laugh, Natasha pinches the back of Clint's head, Clint was laughing but he stopped when Natasha pinched him, Steve is rubbing his eyes wearily, Bruce is just sitting there with an amused smile on his face, and Thor is apologizing profusely to Steve and Loki while he laughs and wipes his nose. Everyone looks at each other and then they're all laughing as if there is no tomorrow., even Tori is laughing, though she tries to calm herself.

When everyone calms down again, Steve looks at Tori with a kind smile. "So Victoria, where are you from?"

"Please call me Tori, and I was born in California, but my family moved to New York for a while. Then we moved back to California."

"So what are you? Race-wise?" Clint asks.

"Well my... dad, is White, but my mom was half Hebrew and half Spaniard." she says.

"Was?" Clint asks and Natasha elbows him in the side and gives him a glare.

Tori doesn't notice though. She's looking down at her lap instead. "My mom passed away when I was twelve." she tells them quietly.

Loki glares daggers at Clint before taking one of Tori's hands in his own. When she looks at im he squeezes her hand gently and she gives him a small smile.

"I'm sorry." Clint says,, "I didn't mean to bring back bad memories."

Tori looks at him and gives him a small, kind smile. "It's okay. You all would have found out sooner or later." she says.

After that they finish their breakfast and head to the livingroom. They end up watching _The Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring_ because it's Thor's favorite movie at the moment and it's his turn to pick the movie. Frodo is just about to wake up in Rivendell when Loki feels something fall on his shoulder.

When he looks down he sees the top of Tori's auburn hair, and he realizes that she fell asleep. He smiles and looks at Tony. Tony looks back at him and he smiles too. He readjusts Tori's blanket so that she stays covered and when he looks up again, Loki is still watching him, a warm look in his eyes. They stare at each other for a while before looking down at the sleeping girl between them, and Tony wraps his arm around the two of them protectively.


	7. Finally Found Happiness

**A/N: Hello again my beautiful readers! Okay, I'm so sorry it took me forever to get this little chapter out! I hope you guys at least like it though cause I really don't. I feel like it's a bit rushed, but you guys tell me okay!  
As always, thank you for all of the favs/follows/reviews! They make me happy (:  
Enjoy!**

* * *

After the movie everyone left, with a very emotional Thor, leaving Loki, Tony and a still sleeping Tori, in the penthouse. Tony had picked the plates up from the table and put them by the sink, and now Loki was washing them while Tony dried and put them away. The silence between the both of them is tense. The only sound around them is that of the sink running and the dishes being put in their rightful places. Loki can sense Tony's need to say something rolling off of him in waves and he waits patiently for the other man to break the silence. Tony sighs loudly and he puts the plate in his hand down on the counter. "Loki."

Loki reaches over and turns the water off, and he looks at Tony. "Yes?"

Tony looks at him, his face hard, "Her father did this to her. I can tell." he states.

"Did she tell you this or are you just guessing, my love?" Loki asks calmly, though he's anything but calm. He can sense that Tony is right about Tori's father being the culprit in this situation, but he doesn't want to jump to any conclusions.

"... No, she didn't tell me."

"Than we shan't pursue anyone until we have proof and all of the facts about this."

"Loki, in her nightmare sh-"

"I know Anthony!" Loki yells as his agitation over the situation increases. Both Tony and Loki turn when they hear Tori move on the couch, but she doesn't wake up. Loki leans back against the counter and runs his hand through his hair. "I know." he repeats quietly as the hand in his hair comes to rest over his mouth.

Tony steps toward him and he takes Loki's hand away from his mouth while reaching for the other one. He holds them both in his own hands and he looks up into his gods eyes. "We'll figure this out Loki. I swear we will." he says quietly and earnestly.

Loki looks down at their hands and he sighs. "What if we don't?"

"Come on. A genius like me and a god like you? We can do anything!" Tony states lightly, trying to brighten up the mood. All this angst isn't going to help him in the long run away. When Loki doesn't so much as crack a smile at that Tony squeezes his hands gently. "Listen, babe, don't think like that, okay? We _will_ figure this out."

The corners of Loki's lips lift up a bit and he looks at Tony. "I love you, my genius." He leans forward and presses a kiss to Tony's cheek before resting his forehead against the shorter man's own forehead.

"I love you too." They stay like that for a few more seconds before Tony pulls away and looks around. "Come on, let's finish the dishes." Tony smirks and looks over at Loki. "Hurry up and get your magic back Sweet Cheeks. I hate doing chores." he says with a grin.

Loki smirks and turns the water back on. He grabs the spray-hose and aims it at Tony's face like a gun, "Say that again."

"Get your magic back _Sweet Cheeks_." Tony says, and Loki squeezes the nozzle, effectively drenching him. Loki laughs as Tony splutters, trying to keep the water from hitting him in the face with his hands.

* * *

Tori wakes up when she hears laughing, what sounds like a drowned out stream of curses, and water hitting the floor. She pushes herself up on the couch and looks in the direction that the noises are coming from. She presses a hand to her mouth and stifles her own laughter. She never thought that she would see two grown men playing with water the way Tony and Loki are. They look like two best friends that would do anything and everything together. They look happy.

She watches them for a while, and she absently wonders if her parents ever did anything like that. When Tony pushes the spray-hose away and presses Loki into the counter, kissing him roughly, Tori blushes and tries to sink back into the couch. She lays down and rolls over, not realizing how close to the edge of it she really was, and she tries in vain to keep herself from falling off of it. Instead she ends up tangled in the blanket and she lands on her back on the floor with a loud thud. She immediately hears footsteps running toward her and she starts to laugh.

"Tori!" a dripping Tony practically screams in a panic as he and Loki land on their knees on either side of her wrapped up body.

"Victoria are you alright?!" Loki asks as he tries to get her out of the blanket.

"I'm fine!" she manages to say between laughs. Both men relax after that and are soon laughing along with her. After a while their laughing dies down and Loki finishes freeing Tori from the blanket. Slowly she pushes herself up, and with Loki and Tony's help, she sits up between them and shoves her bangs out of her face. She looks at the two of them and she starts to giggle. The sight of Tony making his own puddle and Loki half drenched is another thing she thought she'd never see. Tony pushes his wet hair out of his face with a sheepish grin and Loki smiles as he looks down at his damp green shirt. Tori looks back at where the water is still running and she spots all of the puddles of water. Her laughing dies down as she again wonders if her parents ever did something like that. She wonders if her father ever did romantic stuff for her mother, if he ever made her laugh, or even made her cry. She wonders if they were happy like Tony and Loki.

Memories go through her mind like flashes that she can barely catch a glimpse at. A day at the park with her parents pushing her on a swing. Her sixth birthday party with her unicorn shaped cake. Her mom sitting next to her dad as he told her a bedtime story. A family trip to the snow-covered mountains. Her father bringing flowers and a teddy bear to her mother on Valentine's Day. Her first dance recital with her mom backstage and her father in the front row. The last day she saw her mother alive...

She hadn't realized she was crying until a gentle hand wipes away her tears. She turns and looks at Loki as his hand falls away from her face. The kindness in his eyes, the affection and the warmth and the worry in them, remind her of her mother, and whatever little restraint she had left shatters. She covers her face as an ugly sob tears itself out of her throat, and her hair falls forward to cover what her hands couldn't hide. She feels a pair of strong arms pick her up before she's placed on someones lap. Her body shakes as she takes in a shuddering breath and her hair is pushed behind her ears gently. "Victoria, what's wrong?"

"They weren't there!" she bawls to no one in particular. "M-mom wasn't by the curtain and he wa-sn't in the crowd! They were always there but they weren't t-this time and no one kne-knew where they were!" she stutters, trying to catch her breath. "It was five til curtain up when Ms. Lankford-Crawford got a c-all and she pulled me out of the show! A cop came and dro-ove me to the hospital! And he t-took me... and there he was... h-h-he was crying... and the do-ctor told me wh-what happened... It wasn't my fault though! He hated me and he blamed me! He p-punished me, and he hurt me... and then his friends... a-and the other night..." she breaks off as the memory of what was going on before she ran away flooded her mind.

She feels the arms around her tighten their hold on her and she tries to regain some of her composure. She's ashamed of herself for losing control of her emotions the way she did. She's embarrassed and miserable and she doesn't know why she told Loki and Tony what she did, but she's sure that Tony can't wait to throw her out like the piece of trash her father always told her she was.

* * *

However, Tony is seething. He doesn't trust himself to speak. He doesn't want to possibly scare Tori if his voice comes out harsh. Instead he moves closer to where Loki is holding her and he wraps his arms around them, momentarily forgetting about his wet clothes.

The three of them stay huddled together there, and in a few minutes Tori's crying turns into quiet whimpers and sniffling. Tony decides that now is the time to ask who it is that she was talking about since his anger has almost washed over, and he pulls away looking at her. "Tori?" he starts softly. She lifts her face out of her hands and looks at him. "Who is the 'he'?"

Tony catches the way Tori tenses and how she swallows hard, but he needs to know, and though he isn't looking at Loki, he knows he wants to know as well. A few long moments pass, but Tony doesn't push her to answer him out of fear that she might retreat into herself. Finally, she lets out a breath, and with a shaky, soft voice full of embarrassment, she says, "My father." She looks down at her hands in apparent shame and she doesn't say anything.

Tony and Loki look at each other with the same amount of anger, and they both have to refrain from gathering the rest of the Avengers and going to kill this guy.

"Please don't send me back to him." The silent plea breaks Tony out of his train of thought, and he looks down at Tori. "Please."

Tony lets go of them and he places a gentle hand under her chin, urging her to look up. "We never will."

The iron grip that had claimed Tori's body disappears completely and she goes limp in Loki's arms, relief washing over her in waves. She feels another set of arms tighten around the ones holding her and then she feels lips surrounded by rough, coarse hair pressing into her forehead. When she looks up Tony is pulling away, and for the first time in years, she feels safe. Loki and Tony make her feel safe, secure... happy, and she realizes that she doesn't want to leave. "Can... can I stay?" she asks hesitantly.

Tony smiles then and so does Loki. They look at one another before Loki looks back at her. "Of course you can, darling." he tells her quietly.

She smiles genuinely at that and she moves so that she can hug them both. "Thank you."

Tony pulls away from her, as does Loki, and they look at her. "There is no need to thank us, Chavala." Loki tells her as he runs his free hand through her hair.

She slides off of Loki's lap and sits on the floor, looking at her damp clothes with a small smile.

Tony laughs and runs a hand through his hair. "Sorry about that. You know what, I'll get Pepper to take you clothes shopping. I'm sure Nat's gonna want her clothes back."

Tori doesn't know who this 'Pepper' is, but she's sure that if she's Tony's friend that she can trust her. She nods her head. "Thank you."

They all stand up, Tori with Loki's help, and Tony moves toward the kitchen. He reaches the sink and turns the water off. He moves to get a towel from one of the drawers so that he can wipe down the puddles of water that he and Loki made, when he slips and falls down on his ass hard with a yelp. He looks down and rolls his eyes. "Loki..."

Loki starts to laugh and Tori's mouth drops open. "What? It was just a bit of fun!" Loki states, still laughing.

Tony carefully stands as the ice puddle he's on threatens to throw him off balance. He takes a tentative step forward and barely saves himself from doing the splits and he looks up. "Loki, babe please!" he begs and Loki chuckles. He waves his hand once and both the ice and the water disappear. Tony stands and looks at Loki pointedly. "Loki."

"You must admit that that was funny Anthony." Loki says with a smirk on his face as Tony walks toward him and Tori.

"Oh really?"

"Yes. You should have seen your face, my love, it was priceless!"

"I'm sure Jarvis got it on video, and I'm glad I can make you laugh." Tony purrs and he presses his lips to Loki's roughly.

Tori looks at them as they kiss but quickly looks away, not sure what to do but not wanting to intrude on the moment either. When Loki moans she looks up and quickly looks away again when Tony grinds his hips against Loki's. She decides to give them privacy when the obvious bulges catch her attention, and she silently makes her way to her room, slowly so that she doesn't fall. Before turning down the hall, she glances back but she doesn't see Tony or Loki. She's about to call their names when a green shirt flies over the couch, quickly followed by a black one and two pairs of pants and boxers. She smiles and blushes and she turns down the hall as Tony and Loki's groaning, gasping, moaning and name calling grows louder. _Maybe things will get better._ she thinks as she reaches her room and walks in, closing the door behind her, effectively cutting off the noise. _Maybe I'll be happy again._

* * *

**A/N: Okay, "Chavala" is a nickname that Loki gives Tori. It means strong, independent, kind, gentle, and always willing to help. And the nickname will make a reappearance in later chapters (;**


	8. Protect Her

**A/N: Oh. My. God. I am so sorry about the wait for this next update you guys! I just had to go on hiatus for this one because of StFF and I'm so sorry! I really hope you guys like this chapter!  
Thank you for all of the faves/follows/reviews!  
Enjoy!**

* * *

True to his word, Tony convinced Pepper to take Tori shopping.

Tony had told Pepper to charge everything to one of his cards, he doesn't care which one, and he told her to spoil the both of them.

Loki had pulled Pepper aside to speak with her privately and Tony pulled Tori aside to make sure she was okay going with Pepper alone. Tori answered that yes she would be fine, and then Pepper came back over to them, and they took the elevator to the ground floor, leaving.

Tori was afraid, at first, knowing that she wouldn't be in Loki or Tony's immediate company for a while, but as the time went on, she found that she rather enjoyed her time spent in Pepper's company.

Now they're sitting in a very nice restaurant, surrounded by shopping bags, waiting for their food.

Tori looks out of the window they are sitting next to, and a flash blinds her.

"God I hate the press," Pepper sighs. "Just ignore them, don't look at them. They'll take their pictures and leave."

Tori nods and she glances out of the window before she focuses on her drink and brings it toward herself, taking an awkward sip of it.

Pepper, sensing Tori's discomfort, starts to talk. "How are you feeling? Both Loki and Tony told me to take things easy with you."

"They did?"

"Yes. They're both really worried about you."

"Do you know why?" Tori asks, looking down at her hands, as if in shame.

"I do."

"Who told you?"

"Loki."

Tori nods, "I feel okay."

"Does anything hurt?"

"Not really, I'm just tired," Tori admits.

"You must be a little warm too," Pepper says with a small smile. Loki made sure that Tori was completely covered before she left with Pepper.

Tori looks up and gives Pepper a shy smile, "Just a little."

At that moment a waiter comes by and he puts their plates in front of them. They thank him and both start to eat their food in a comfortable quiet.

Halfway through the meal Pepper asks Tori a question. "Do you want to do more shopping or are you too tired?"

Tori swallows the fry in her mouth and she looks up. She's exhausted and her abdomen is flaring with pain, but she doesn't want to be the reason Pepper's day off gets cut short. "I can go for a bit longer."

Pepper quirks an eyebrow at her and she smiles, "You're a terrible liar, Tori."

Tori blushes and she looks down at her half-eaten meal. "I just don't want to cut your fun short."

Pepper laughs softly and she takes one of Tori's hands in her own. "We've been out for almost six hours! I don't know about you, but my feet are crying!"

Tori looks up and she's surprised to find kindness and happiness on Pepper's face. "Are you sure you don't mind?"

"No, really. Plus it's going to get pretty dark soon, and I don't really enjoy being out on the streets after dark."

"Okay," Tori nods.

"We'll go when we're done eating," Pepper says and she lets go of Tori's hand.

They finish eating fifteen minutes later and Pepper puts the meal on Tony's Visa before she hails a taxi for them.

The cab driver opens the door for them and once they're in he closes it, and puts their bags into the trunk of the car.

Pepper calls Tony when they're on their way back to the tower, but Tori is already asleep.

When they get to the tower, Loki and Tony come out of the front doors and walk toward them.

Pepper gives the driver a nondescript bill and she opens the door. "Sh. She's asleep," she whispers when Tony opens his mouth to speak.

Loki walks around to the other side of the car as the driver gets out of the driver's seat so that he can start taking the bags out of the trunk. Loki opens the door slowly before leaning in and unbuckling Tori, gently pulling her out of the car and carrying her.

The cab driver finishes taking all the shopping bags out of the car and Pepper makes Tony carry all the bags inside. Tony doesn't mind though, he's only glad that Tori is back. The tower felt surprisingly empty without her there.

They get into the elevator and they take it up to the pent house. When the doors finally open Tony moves toward Tori's room, bags in hand, Pepper walks to the kitchen and Loki walks straight to the couch, laying Tori down gently on it.

Tori stirs and bleary eyes open, "Loki?"

"Yes sweetheart, it's me. Are you alright?"

Tori nods, "I'm okay, just tired."

"Are you in pain?" Loki asks, pushing a piece of her auburn hair behind her ear.

"Just a little."

"Do you want Bruce to check on you?" Loki asks quietly, worry clear in his voice.

"No, I'll be okay." Tori yawns and Loki smiles, "Where's Tony?"

"Right here," Tony says as he appears from around the corner. "You tired?" Tori nods again, "Then the shopping went well!"

Loki rolls his eyes with a smirk on his face and Tori smiles before yawning again.

"You should get some sleep, darling," Loki tells her gently.

Tori nods as her eyes fall closed. "I love you guys," she says before falling asleep again.

Tony stays rooted to the spot and Loki does too, both of them caught completely off guard and happy because of the proclamation.

Loki leans forward after what feels like ages, and he presses a gentle kiss to Tori's temple. Tony walks over, picking up the blanket on the back of the couch, and he drapes it on top of Tori.

Loki stands and Tony wraps his arms around the agile waist in front of him. Loki leans into Tony's chest, his own arms coming over Tony's, a smile on his face as he looks down at Tori. "I told you it was too soon for her to be going out," he says quietly, no trace of anger in his voice.

Tony chuckles and he kisses the side of Loki's neck. "I know, you were right."

"She said she loves us," Loki whispers.

"Yeah... she did." Tony nuzzles his face into Loki's neck and he can smell Loki's hair. He smiles as his happiness washes over him and he lifts his face up to rest on Loki's shoulder.

They stand there, reveling in their bliss and shocked happiness, when a light cough interrupts the silence. They both look up as Pepper steps forward. "We need to talk," she says quietly.

Loki tenses and Tony tightens his hold on him, "What about?"

"Come into the kitchen."

Tony moves away from Loki but he takes Loki's stiff hand in his own, leading him toward the kitchen.

Pepper makes her way into the room when she sees the two men coming, and she sighs, putting a hand on her forehead.

"What is it Pepper?" Tony asks, obviously worried but trying to hide it.

"The paparazzi got photos of Tori when we were at the restaurant," she says as she turns to look at the two men.

Tony goes rigid and Loki blanks. The silence stretches from a few seconds to a few minutes before Loki breaks out of his train of thought. "How?"

"We got seated at a window and I didn't stop to think about that being a bad idea. The paparazzi just stood outside of the window snapping pictures."

"Did they try talking to you two when you hailed the taxi?" Tony asks.

"No. Restaurant security kept them away from us. I don't think Tori noticed them though. She was really exhausted, though she tried to hide it. I'd get Bruce to check on her, she was wheezing in her sleep during the car ride." Pepper says, glancing at the couch in the other room.

"I didn't hear her wheezing when I carried her up here," Loki says as he looks at the couch, fear for Tori's well-being gripping him.

"It stopped halfway through the ride," Pepper says and Loki only looks at the girl, his knees going weak.

"Pepper, do you think they got photos of her face?" Tony asks as he wraps an arm around Loki's waist, supporting him.

"Yes. Those pictures will either make it onto the news tonight or be everywhere by tomorrow morning," she says. "I'm so sorry, I screwed this all up."

"No, no you did not," Loki says as he finally tears his gaze away from Tori to look at Pepper. He's still worried about Tori but he doesn't want Pepper to blame herself over something that could not have been prevented. It's not like they could have hidden Tori forever. "You brought Tori back safely and you handled everything brilliantly."

Pepper nods as she looks at the floor, "I'm still sorry."

"Don't be," Tony says.

"What if her father watches the news?" Pepper asks.

It goes quiet again. They all know the answer. He would come looking for her and try to finish what he started.

"He won't touch her. I won't allow it," Loki growls as a wave of protectiveness washes over him.

Tony nods in agreement, his features hard. "We have to let the others know about this, just in case something does happen. For now, we need to make sure Tori didn't get hurt further for going out today."

"She said that she was fine..." Loki murmurs as he looks at Tori again.

"She was exhausted, babe. We just need to make sure she's fine," Tony assures as he rubs soothing circles into Loki's back. Loki nods and Tony sighs, "Jarvis, can you ask Bruce to come up here please?"

"Of course, sir."

"So when are you going to tell everyone else?" Pepper questions.

"We shouldn't do anything too soon. We'll watch the news tonight, but whether they show anything or not, we'll tell everyone tomorrow," Tony says.

Both Pepper and Loki nod and then Loki turns and walks back to Tori.

"He loves her, doesn't he?" Pepper asks softly as she watches Loki crouch in front of Tori, tucking another piece of her hair behind her ear.

"Yeah. He does."

"Do you?"

Tony looks over at Pepper and he stares at her for a while before looking back over at Tori and Loki. "Is it possible to love someone you've never met after less than forty-eight hours?" Tony mumbles, watching Loki wake Tori up, probably to let her know that Bruce is coming to look her over.

Pepper puts her hand on Tony's shoulder, squeezing it softly, "Yes."

Tony lets out a shaky breath, "Loki and I have been talking. We want to adopt her, we just don't know how to tell her."

"Do you want me to draw up the papers?"

"No. Not yet at least."

They both watch as Loki helps Tori sit up and at that moment Bruce walks in, doctor's bag in one hand, his glasses in the other. Tony nods his head at Bruce in greeting and Pepper waves. Bruce nods at them both before moving toward the couch.

"What are you going to do if the press do show the photos?" Pepper asks.

"Protect her," Tony says simply.

Pepper nods, "We'll be here to help."

They both watch as Bruce starts to pull things out of his bag and Tori starts answering whatever questions he's asking, Loki wrapping an arm around her shoulders, "Thank you."


End file.
